Plier-type toggle wrench having third jaw



June 1952 s. L. WILLIAMSON 2,600,594

PLIER-TYPE TOGGLE WRENCH HAVING THIRD JAW Filed Oct. 20, 1950 v 2 SHEETS-SHEET l /9 Jay :1

June 17, 1952 s. L. WILLIAMSON 2,600,594

PLIER-TYPE TOGGLE WRENCH HAVING THIRD JAW Filed Oct. 20, 1950 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 fatenteci June 17, 1952 UNITED STATES ?A:TENT

OFFICE FIXER-TYPE TOGGLE WRENCH HAVING.

THIRD JAW- Stanley L, Williamson, Minneapolis, Mimi. ApQIicatio'n-October- ZO, 1950; S'eriaJl' N'o. 191:2,3? 14 Claims. (CL, 8 1 8 4) pliers on to n-old: a desireda object the manner;

of a vise.

An important object; of-

invention is; the provision of a wrench which willxgra-sp. and lyhoi'ct objects of various 'crossssectional shapes such as thin fiat:materia1s,.square or, other polyg on'ai pieces, or round. or tubular members. with equelr facility.

Another object: of my invention; isnthe provisfion of a w'nench. halving alternatively-fixed; jaw and-1e Iplura-iity. of movable jawsyoooperatingto grasp an article 'at a plurality of; widely speoeQ points about its periphery-.,

Another object oi my invention is the provi: sion of: a "wrench having a relat vely: fixed; jaw and a. pair of relatively movable; Jewsin which either of the movable jaws may be utilized to cooperate withysaid fixed. jaw toggresp tin-article to beheld; to: the exclusionvo the oth r sai movable.- jaw.

In the use of wrenches neral mvam b e m is often "wasted. inohoosin awrenchesi to fit particular artielesztqbehieldo r-inedistlne a g ven Wrench to fit one 1e. .A sti i 1 iu 'therobject of my invention, ther fore, he rov s on i a "wrehch as set forth which may 'be' instantly -ad i-usted to. accommodat en tle of various-s z andjshapesi A still obiect f my n nt o s. h nrovisienz of novel eans, o pos t ely ma ntai n a me h of; h above p ad u t setposition dying; grasping movements of the Jaws there Another object of my invention is the ;-pnovi- 'sion of; a. wrench as set forth which is. relatively simp1e :and inexpensive to manufacture which is highly effici entlin; operation, and which is rugged -co tr ion an durabl -in se.

Another object of mywinvention is the. provision of a novel method ofproducingan element w t my," r v d w ench.

T e above a i urther-highl importan objects and advantagesi oi-rmy inventionfwi'li besome app ent fro theidl owing dte led sp c flQetien -appended claims, and ajttaohed draw- 1183- Reierring to-the.orawings which illustratethe invention endpin whichflike characters. indicate like .:par-ts.th roug'hout theseverei views:

Fig. 1; isva view inlside elevation of a, wrench built mceordance h-my invention andsi wn in; .le l-miineno i on w me -article to'be?held=;

Fi 2. is. a; view; w i h ildi le 9; E si 1 h t;

with me parts. be n broken, aw y n some parts-beine-shqwn n ect on; t

Fi 3 a. i w pltresn nli ne to F b t.

showinea-difi. entl-nq itim om I: th par Pie. 4.. i v ew. p cr pe ns o. He 2 bu sh win a. il. f ten i n o ome f h pa ts a dtlie si n a qn fv l wrench o;

ieho me; of a ively: thin e ials.

He ,1 a. fra m n at V ew P r ly in s de. le a on, we p r l ec ion. ow ng 'i he adap ation f my n ve Wr q ac o s-Seq qnellv hexagona ar cle;

F g, 6 is mn' ve se e t o ak whi e tially on tlaeline 6,--6; i F 3;.

le 1 M ra s ers s t o en h tan t ial-1y on the line 'l oflilig f3;

Fig. 3 is a view-inuperspect'ive of a rectangular metallic body from which one of the elements of my nv n on is produced Fig. 9 is a. vi e mresno l e, o ee-v flg ui s wi he' d p t o tw e al in; and Fig. 10 is a View 'inelevagtion showing thesplit apart sections of Fig, aseo nfefijto eaohidthemn Qm i ea ir o a er l spa d e t me-TI 1 3 providing ahdlB 4 a n emigw ei or otherwise rigidly .seehred at their other ends t a r l i y-fix J w fiupmv lw th. lemmin eet 6. nd 1, arran ed in a e l rll dis sed p a e pr r b t n rqx ma el sllit .1 13417- degr eesepart. Thehandle-iforn'iing end 311,- tion of the members land}, areformedjto, IQ! v'i'de longitufiinaiily extending upper and, lower pairs of inturned flanges 8 andfii respectively, "for a. .pumo h h w hex r ome annale'nt. Aseoondjew HHS provided with gripping t h. t ne endnhe nt and at'l slofihe f T nd is journa'lled. on ajpivotwpin. l2 extending tra ns-v v r-s y b we he mb r se ti ns 2 and. 3 a d rive r o herw r ieiidl e e' re vther to i sp e d lefi r; oi he'fir t 3w "5- heme bl econdjiaw lllfis oapebleoi. al enate move. me ts a t, the axi i he pivdtgp n, '2 o a d and away 'from the 'fixeii ja w aniiiis urgetl, info ir c ioneway t t mrb e q lftension'. sp i or the (like '13, anchored at one fin .agnq'teh fl j4 in the seoond j a w. "[0- and at its other end in the elongated section 3, as indicated at 15, A mova' b'le. third-jaw, ifi is provided with-gripping teeth H atone end portion 'thereot, and, elfiit's Q h en s. J m l e on a em te-1 in lawhlth ext sitmn ve slyibs w en. hee ated mem ber sections 2 and 3 intermediate the fixed first jaw 5 and the pivot pin l2, and which is rigidly secured to the sections 2 and 3 in the same manner as the pivot pin I2. By reason of the fact that the pivot pins l2 and 18 are in spaced-apart relationship, the arc of movement of the third jaw l6 toward and away from the first jaw 5 is eccentric to the arc of movement of the second jaw H). The movable jaw I6 is yieldingly biased in a direction away from the fixed jaw 5 by a coil tension spring 19 anchored at one end in a notch 20 in the jaw l6 and at its other end to the elongated section 3, as indicated at 2|.

A handle-forming lever 22 has one end pivotally secured to the movable jaw 19 intermediate its ends by a pivot pin 23 and has pivotally connected to the intermediate portion thereof, as indicated at 24, one end of a toggle link 25. A second handle-forming lever 26 has one end pivotally secured to the movable third jaw l6 by a pivot pin 21, and has pivotally mounted to its intermediate portion, as indicated at 28, one end of a second toggle link 29. As shown, the levers 22 and 26 are disposed, the former above the top side of the handle 4 and the latter below the bottom side thereof, and are movable toward and from said handle and. in the plane thereof. A pair of spring elements 30 and 3| are secured to the levers 22 and 26 respectively and are interposed therebetween and their respective toggle links 25 and 29 whereby to bias the levers in directions away from the handle 4 in a manner which will hereinafter become apparent. Preferably and as shown, the handle-forming levers 22 and 26 are cross-sectionally U-shaped for the greater part of their lengths, the former being disposed between the sections 2 and 3 and the latter being disposed outwardly thereof. The levers 22 and 26 are bifurcated in the ends adjacent their respective cooperating jaws lll and I6, thebifurcation of the lever 26 extending sufficiently to permit reception of the elongated member I between the opposite sides thereof.

The handle 4 further includes an intermediate member 32 which is welded or otherwise secured to the handle-forming members 2 and 3 and cooperates therewith to define upper and lower channels 33 and 34 respectively which extend longitudinally of the handle 4, the open sides thereof facing in opposite directions toward their respective levers 22 and 26. The bottoms of the channels 33 and 34 are arcuate in cross-section and, are formed by buttress teeth 35 and 36 respectively, the thrust or working faces of which are disposed toward the jaws 5, I0, and I6. In other words, the teeth 35 extend arcuately about a common axis extending longitudinally of the channel 33, and the teeth 36 extend arcuately about a common axis extending longitudinally of the channel 34. Preferably and as shown in Figs. 1 and '7, the elongated sections 2 and 3 are provided with a plurality of spaced apertures 31 wherein the member 32 may be welded or otherwise rigidly secured to the sections 2 and 3.

A preferred method of constructing the member 32 is illustrated in Figs. 8 to inclusive, and isjaccomplished as follows: v

A generally rectangular body A is formed from bar stock and is drilled and tapped longitudinally to'provide a central-threaded aperture B, the threads thereof being preferably. of the wellknown buttress type. The body A is then split longitudinally on the axis of the threaded hole B as indicated in Fig. 9. The halves of the body A thus formed are placed in back-to-back relationship as shown in Fig. 10 and welded or other wise secured fast together to provide the member 32, after which the member 32 is welded between the elongated handle-forming sections 2 and 3 with the thrust faces of the buttress teeth 35 and 36 formed by the threads of the tapped hole B being disposed toward the jaws of the wrench.

Pivotally mounted on the free ends of the toggle links 25 and 29 are a pair of elongated locking shoes 38 and 39 respectively, the shoe 38 being contained within the channel 33 and the shoe 39 in the oppositechannel 34. Each of said shoes is provided with a bearing boss 40 one end of which is received in a bifurcated end 4| on each of the toggle links 25 and 29 and pivotally mounted therein by means of pivot pins 42. As shown best in Fig. '7, the shoes 38 and 39 have arcuate bottom portions defined by buttress teeth 43 and 44 which are adapted to have meshing engagement with the buttress teeth 35 and 36 respectively of the member 32 whereby to independently and positively lock the shoes 38 and 39 against longitudinal movement in one direction with respect to said member 32. The shoes 33 and 39 are independently movable laterally outwardly from meshing engagement with the member 32 to a limiting extent, said outward movement being limited by engagement of lugs 4-5 projecting laterally outwardly from the shoes 38 and 39 and engaging the adjacent inturned flanges 8 and 9. It will be noted that the springs 30 and 3| urge their respective shoes 38 and 39 in a direction to cause the teeth thereon to have meshing engagement in their respective channels 33 and 34. With reference to Figs. 1 and 4, it will be seen that the location of either of the shoes 38 and 39 longitudinally with respect to the member 32 determines the distance between the fixed first jaw 5 and the movable jaws l0 and I6 when the wrench is in a closed position. For example, when the shoe 39 is in its position of Fig. 2, the distance between the gripping teeth H and the jaw 5 is much greater than is the case when the shoes 39 is in its position of Fig. 4. With this arrangement, adjustment of the movable jaws IO and I6 to accommodate articles of various sizes and shapes is accomplished with a minimum loss of time and with a minimum of effort involved by merely placing the teeth of the fixed jaw 5 into engagement with the article to be held and manually moving the shoes 38' and 39 in a direction to bring their respective movable jaws lfl and I6 into loose engagement with said article. When this is done, the operator merely moves the handle-forming levers 22 and 26 toward their position of Figs. 2 and 4, the resulting toggle action between said levers and their respective links 25 and 29 causing the articlet o be gripped with the desired pressure. As shown in Fig. 2, the levers 22 and 26 and their respective toggle links 25 and 29 may be moved beyond dead-center relationship so as to cause the wrench to be self-locked on the article held. The degree of looseness of the initial setting of the movable jaws I0 and IS with respect to the article to be held determines whether or not the levers 22 and 26 and their cooperating toggle links 25 and 29 will move beyond dead-center relationship when moved to their article-gripping positions. A tubular article is indicated in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive, and indicated by the letter C. Fig. 4 illustrates the manner in which a hexagon nut or the like D is held by the gripping faces 6 and 1 of the fixed jaw 5 and thegripping faces end of said toggle link, said handle defining a longitudinally extended channel the bottom of which is provided with a longitudinally extended series of abutment-formin teeth extending in arcs about a common axis, said shoe being provided with a longitudinally extended series of abutment-forming teeth engageable with the teeth in said channel, the teeth on said shoe extending in arcs about an axis common to said first-mentioned axis when the teeth on said shoe and said channel are in operative engagement, cooperating means on said shoe and said handle for limiting movement of said shoe away from the teeth in said channel in a direction transversely of said handle, yielding mean interposed between said lever and said toggle link and urging said shoe toward engagement of the teeth thereof with the teeth on said handle, and cooperating means on said toggle link and said handle for positively locking said shoe in tooth-engagin position in said channel when said lever is moved toward said handle.

9. In a tool of the class described, an elongated member providing a handle at one end and a relatively fixed first jaw at its other end, relatively movable second and third jaws, means pivotally mounting said movable jaws on said member in spaced relation to each other and to said first jaw for independent arcuate movements toward and away from said first jaw, a pair of levers each having one end pivotally connected to a different one of said movable jaws and extending longitudinally of said handle on opposite sides thereof, said handle defining longitudinally extended channels the open side of each of which faces one of said levers and the bottoms of which are provided with buttress teeth extending in arcs about common axes extending longitudinally of said handle, a pair of toggle links each pivotally connected at one end to the intermediate portion of a different one of said levers, a pair of elongated shoes one each pivotally connected to the opposite end of each of said toggle links and longitudinally slidable one each in each of said' permit movement thereof in the opposite direction, and yieldin means urging said shoes toward engagement of the teeth thereon with the teeth in said channels, said shoes being independently adjustably movable one with respect to the other thereof.

10. The structure defined in claim 9 in further teeth in said channels upon movement of said' levers toward said handle.

12. The structure defined in claim 9 in which said second and third jaws are independently yieldingly biased in a direction away from said relatively fixed first jaw.

13. The structure defined in claim 9 in further combination with means for positively limiting outward movement of said shoes in a direction transversely of said handle, said means comprising opposed longitudinally extending flanges on opposite sides of said handle and overlying said channels, and laterally outwardly projecting lugs on opposite end portions of each of said shoes engageable with said flanges upon laterally outward movements of said shoes with respect to their respective channels.

14. The structure defined in claim 9 in further combination with means for positively moving said shoes into locking engagement with the teeth in said channels upon movement of said levers toward said handle, said means comprising laterally inwardly projecting flanges extending longitudinally of said handle member, one each thereof overlying one of said channels, and a laterally outwardly projecting lug on the adjacent portion of each of said toggle links laterally outwardly of the pivotal connection therebetween and its respective shoe, each of said lugs engaging an adjacent one of said flanges upon movement of its cooperating lever toward said handle.

STANLEY L. WILLIAMSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

